Osaka can come through her mental health issues stronger

So many of those who read last week’s column have accused me of being insensitive to the plight of Naomi Osaka that I feel compelled to clear the misunderstanding.

When I wrote that Osaka is going about the whole issue the wrong way by refusing to take questions from journalists at the French Open, I was in no way turning a blind eye to her struggles.

What I meant, and this is something that came to me with the force of a hurricane after she withdrew from the prestigious tournament, is that by citing mental illness as the reason for her decision to snub media interviews, the World Number two has officially joined a larger war against a hard-to-comprehend issue.

Osaka's story has brought to the fore the fact that mental wellness is not just salient. In today’s world where everybody treats everyone else with some level of mistrust, where citizens are encouraged to consume content from the internet with an elevated degree of doubt, it is hard to simply accept each and every claim of mental illness as gospel truth.

As we castigate Roland Garros for being insensitive, let's acknowledge that mental illness claims are hard to prove from afar, whether they are coming from globally acclaimed sports stars or not, and whether shared through social media posts or debated across the robust British media.

Even trained professionals may not be able to tell right away if someone is faking or exaggerating mental illness symptoms.

Many facing serious illnesses have used social media to find emotional support, sympathy, and even crowdfunding for medical care. But, a handful of such cases have turned out to be completely made up. There is even a professional term for it now – selling sorrow.

Motivation as to why someone may choose to fake mental illness can vary. In the mental health world, there is the term “attention seeking” which is how doctors explain away factitious patients.

Yet if someone is faking symptoms of a mental illness, like some claim Naomi is, that in itself may be an indication there is some underlying mental illness. Studies show that fakers are motivated by, among other things, jealousy, low self-esteem, and loneliness. For me, it comes down to a single question: Who do you believe?

Reams of copy have been written about Osaka since her outburst, and where has it gotten us? The biggest and most immediate consequence, perhaps, will be that her coming out will diffuse her grit and cause her to lose the impenetrable focus that has so far carried her to four Grand Slam titles.

I will walk until Calvary with the troupe that believes Osaka should find better ways of addressing her wellness, but the presence, or potential presence, of mental illness cannot be taken lightly. Many chronic illness patients already spend years being misdiagnosed by doctors and disbelieved by their families. Should the same happen within the sporting world?

Even if Osaka is exaggerating things, there might be therapeutic potential in that. If she can feign mental wellness, then she can fake the opposite.

One hopes she will rise from this controversy with a similar resolve, this time to fake crystal clear concentration, and go on to win hundreds of other titles.